Ethnic City - Go fish at El Senor Taco

Tucked into the same Buford Highway strip mall that’s home to cult favorites Cóm Vietnamese Grill and Lee’s Bakery, El Señor Taco (4005 Buford Highway, 404-982-0777) is poised to become just as much of a classic. The dining room is bare-bones except for flat screen televisions, and table décor in the form of a fresh floral arrangements and the odd whole pineapple. When he’s not busy behind the scenes in the kitchen, owner David Romero works his customers with the same amount of friendly grace you’d find in a more upscale establishment.

Despite a substantial Mexican population, there’s an odd absence of fish tacos in Atlanta. Leave it to someone from Ensenada, Baja California, to fill the void. Romero moved to Atlanta just to open El Señor Taco after many of his friends told him how well a fish taco place would do here. Romero was no stranger to the business; he learned the ins and outs while working in his family’s wildly popular restaurants, El Taco Nazo and Señor Baja, back in California. The former has been open for an astounding 30 years.

You’ll be tempted to try the nonseafood items — pastor, carnitas, menudo (tripe stew), etc. — from El Señor’s small menu, but don’t bother. This place is all about the fish. If someone along for the ride is completely anti-fish, the chicken nachos made with crunchy, thick El Milagro tortilla chips draped in gooey white cheese and all the other accoutrements will pass muster.

Seafood comes in enough variations — boiled, fried and rolled up in a burrito — to satisfy whatever craving you have. The standard small and large goblets overflow with coctel de camaron, Mexico’s answer to the shrimp cocktail. A similar dish, the campechana, is a peculiarly hard-to-find item in our city. This mixture of poached tiger shrimp and octopus is normally served in Mexican beach towns where the heat is so intense you can’t fathom eating anything but cold seafood. Romero’s version is exemplary if unorthodox (campechana normally includes more types of seafood). The flavor, however, hits on every level. Smokiness from the Worcestershire sauce, acid from the fresh lime juice, creaminess from the avocado, and crunch from the onions and cilantro. Clamato and fresh tomatoes marry all of the ingredients. A serving of sopa de mariscos (seafood soup) is generous whether you order the small or large. Romero makes it using his father’s recipe and a few secret tweaks. Octopus, shrimp and fish are packed into a bowl full of tomato broth and fresh veggies. Chili peppers add a little heat.

In Baja, fish tacos are normally made with shark. However, Romero uses Alaskan pollock, a mild, white fish. The batter is super light — Romero wouldn’t divulge his secret but did mention something about pancakes and beer — and puffs up to create pockets of crunch around the fish. It’s then placed on small double corn tortillas, drizzled with a creamy sauce and then topped with chopped onion, tomato and cabbage. The fried shrimp tacos get the same treatment and are even better with a dot of the spicy, bright green avocado salsa from the small but excellent salsa bar (don’t forget to try the pickled red onions). A warning: The tacos disappear in two, maybe three bites so don’t be afraid to order more than one. At less than $2 per taco, you’ll be in, out and full of deliciousness in no time without spending a ton of cash.